Resurrection
by Justright
Summary: Phoebe is slipping into madness because of her grief over Cole and their son's death...


Resurrection  
  
  
  
The cave is only illuminated by torches and furnished with strange objects. Standing at the center is a throne where the Seer now sits with a very satisfied expression. A tall hooded man enters the chamber, keeping his head low. He doesn't say anything however, and waits for the Seer to acknowledge his presence.  
  
"Priest, what is it?"  
  
"My liege," the priest begins while still looking down. "Are you certain that we're safe now?"  
  
The Seer doesn't answer right away, as she seems deep in thoughts. Then:  
  
"Perfectly. The Charmed Ones are no threat to us anymore… The widow of the former Source is going mad. Soon, there won't be anything left of her mind and her spirit. She'll be broken irremediably, and the Charmed Ones will be no more.  
  
The priest dares looking up and sees a cruel smile forming on the Seer's lips…  
  
In a white chamber, bathed with a soft light, three hooded figures are standing in a circle, with a bright glow where their visage should be. They face each other in silence for a moment. Then one of them begins:  
  
"We have no right to intervene. This is the way it has to be."  
  
Another one replies:  
  
"Are we to let evil win? Are we to let this ignominy go unpunished?"  
  
"What else can we do? Maybe we were wrong all along and those were not the chosen ones…"  
  
"What of their actions? What of all they accomplished already? They killed not one, but two Sources. I think that it should say something about their worth."  
  
"And what of the infant? He has done nothing to be so punished. He was an innocent corrupted by evil."  
  
"That still doesn't give us the right to intervene."  
  
Another hooded figure approaches, unseen until now.  
  
"You can't just give up on them. That's not right. They've done so much for you," the hooded man begins, as his glowing face changes into Leo's.  
  
"Leo," one of them says, half turning toward him, "we know how much you care for all of them. However, this doesn't change the fact that your request is beyond the scope of feasibility. We're not allowed to intervene so closely in human affairs."  
  
Leo moves closer and voices angrily:  
  
"They didn't hesitate to sacrifice everything for the greater good. They lost their sister first, and then Phoebe lost her own son along with the man she loved. How can you say that you don't owe them? And if not for them, think of what you will unleash on the world, soon unprotected, by doing nothing…"  
  
The three Elders turn to him, but do not answer as Leo observes them anxiously…  
  
It is late at night, and cars are coming and going on the freeway leading to San Francisco. A dark blue car, which obviously has seen better days, comes into view and the man driving it is yawning while trying to keep his eyes on the road. A little cry gets his attention, as he looks quickly in the mirror to see a baby squirming, and then obviously going back to sleep. The man smiles warily, as he returns his attention to the road. He then says in a soothing voice:  
  
"Soon boy, we'll be there soon."  
  
Once briefly, then once again, but a little longer, the man's eyelids close on their own. The second time, he jumps nervously, worried that he'll fall asleep. He eyes the roadside, wondering if he shouldn't stop and rest for a while. However, one more glance in the mirror reminds him that it wouldn't be safe for his son. He cracks the window only so, and then bends toward the radio. A loud screeching noise startles him, and when he looks back, it's to see a truck swerving toward him from the next lane. He only has the time to scream once before everything goes black…  
  
The man wakes up in a hospital bed. His face is almost completely covered with a bandage and he touches it with perplexity, as he wonders what happened to him. Then suddenly, he remembers the accident.  
  
"Nurse! Someone, please!"  
  
A nurse in white uniform enters the room almost immediately.  
  
"I see that you're finally awake, Mr. O'Connell."  
  
"Where's my son?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry, sir. Your son's fine. We're keeping him under observation, but he's recuperating nicely. It's a miracle that you've both come out of this wreck and survived at all. You were practically dead when they found you. They say that your vehicle was a total loss too."  
  
Dexter O'Connell stares at the nurse, her words barely registering after she reassured him about his son. He nods absently at the rest of what she says.  
  
"Can I see him," he finally interrupts.  
  
"It won't be long, Mr. O'Connell. But the doctor has to examine you first. You've been unconscious for quite some time."  
  
"How long," he asks, suddenly reminded that he had an job interview with a law firm in the early morning.  
  
"Five days…"  
  
"What?"  
  
The man tries to get up, but the nurse stops him.  
  
"Please, wait for the doctor. You're still very weak."  
  
Dexter relents and lies back on the bed…  
  
Phoebe has been moping around ever since she lost Cole and their baby. Piper and Paige have tried to help her out of her lethargy, but to no avail. Leo and they fear that she is on a very unhealthy slope. One that could even drive her to the brink of madness… If that wasn't enough, her sorrow is compounded by the pain she has caused her sisters, even if they repeatedly told her that she wasn't responsible.  
  
Almost as a zombie, she goes on, still trying to work and do her chores, but her heart is not in it. That is, until one morning, when she opens a drawer that still contains some of Cole's effects. At first, she steps back and tears roll down her cheeks. Paige was supposed to have removed all of those things, but obviously missed some. After a moment however, Phoebe can't resist going back to the drawer, and then she gingerly extends her hand toward a shirt neatly folded the way Cole liked. Even that thought is enough to choke her, but she still picks it up. As soon as she touched it, she has a vision of a man looking exactly like Cole. He is walking down a street with an infant in his arms. As she watches, a hooded figure materializes in front of him and grabs the infant from him. At this point, she's pulled out of the vision, and Phoebe has to hold on to the dresser, as her legs feel like cotton. Phoebe takes a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then, she calls loudly:  
  
"Piper! Paige!"  
  
Paige is the one entering the room, and right away a look of remorse forms on her face, as she sees the shirt, now on the floor.  
  
"Phoebe, I'm so sorry. I really thought that I got it all…"  
  
Phoebe eyes her as if she couldn't understand a word that Paige's saying.  
  
"Phoebe? Are you ok? I told you, I'm sorry. I'll take care of it, all right?"  
  
Phoebe now seems catatonic, and Paige worries that their worst fears are coming true. Then, Phoebe's eyes appear to come to life again, as she utters:  
  
"Cole…"  
  
"I know Phoebe. I said I was sorry, didn't I?"  
  
"He's alive…Cole's alive…"  
  
Phoebe's sitting in the living room and she watches Paige and Piper. They're whispering, no doubt about her, she thinks. In a way, she is very annoyed, but on the other hand, she can't help wondering herself…  
  
"What do you think," Paige whispers, as she casts a quick glance toward Phoebe.  
  
"I don't know…She said that it was a vision?"  
  
"That's what she said, but…"  
  
"I know," Piper replies sadly. "It doesn't make any sense. Leo just told me again he doesn't believe the Elders will do anything. Why should they anyway? If ever there was personal gain that would be it…"  
  
"Yes and no," Paige tries again. "After all, what can we do against the Seer if Phoebe's out for good?"  
  
"I don't think that it'd change the Elders' minds, Paige. Prue almost gave up and so did I at least once before. They didn't do anything about that either…I wish but…"  
  
"So, you think that she just…imagined it…"  
  
"More like wishful thinking. It's not the first time that she believes she saw him either. Remember last week when we dragged her to come shopping with us. She practically jumped that poor man…"  
  
"I know," Paige answers while glancing at Phoebe, this time with infinite regret.  
  
Piper looks at Phoebe in turn, then she pursues:  
  
"I'm surprised that you care so much, Paige. You never seemed very fond of Cole. Even before…"  
  
"It's not Cole I care about. I just can see how horrible it is for Phoebe. And not to mention losing her son…"  
  
Piper sighs and turns completely toward Phoebe then.  
  
This one sees her move and without being told, she already knows what they'll say.  
  
"Piper," she still questions.  
  
"Phoebe…I'm sorry that it's so hard for you. I wish that you'd snap out of it…"  
  
"I saw him," Phoebe almost screams. "I swear Piper, it was a vision and I saw him, with our son…"  
  
Piper takes a deep breath and comes to sit by her, putting her hand lightly on Phoebe's arm:  
  
"Phoebe…it's not the first time that we've gone through this, is it?"  
  
Phoebe closes her eyes with a grimace, already half defeated.  
  
"But…It wasn't the same…"  
  
"Phoebe, please. You were shocked to find something of his. I'm sorry about that, and so is Paige," she says with a reproachfully, looking up at Paige.  
  
This one winces but doesn't protest aloud.  
  
Phoebe tries again to convince Piper, as she turns to her with pleading eyes:  
  
"But it felt so real, Piper…"  
  
Piper bites her lips self consciously. Then she adds softly:  
  
"Phoebe, I really think that you need to see someone…"  
  
"Someone like whom," Phoebe replies irritably.  
  
Piper doesn't answer, as she knows that Phoebe understood. Instead, she watches her with a saddened expression.  
  
The doctor just finished examining him summarily, and he is now pulling the bandages off his face. Dexter wonders what he will find once these are removed, but his most pressing concern is his son. He is afraid of how hurt he will truly be, in spite of the nurse's reassurance. As the last of the bandages falls in his lap, Dexter finds that the doctor seems very surprised.  
  
"What is it," he asks anxiously.  
  
"Huh, well, Mr. O'Connell. I wasn't expecting such a quick improvement…"  
  
"So, it's not bad then?"  
  
"I would say it's not far from miraculous. I don't know why I'm so surprised however, after seeing your son's incredible recovery. You must have very good genes…"  
  
"What do you mean about my son," Dexter asks, still very anxious in spite of the reassuring news. And as his face is finally shown, we recognize, not the man from the car, but Cole's likeliness, unscarred…  
  
"Well, he was in very bad shape when they brought him here. As a matter of fact, so were you… you almost died. To be honest, both of you needed to be reanimated. So you see… that is why your rapid recovery seems so unbelievable."  
  
"But he's fine now? I can see him, can't I?"  
  
"I don't see why not, just as long as you feel up to it?"  
  
"I do, I'm sure of it doctor."  
  
However, when Dexter tries to get up, wave of dizziness washes over him and he has to sit back for a moment, as a strange vision comes to him.  
  
He sees this beautiful girl, apparently very sad. He can almost feel the same sadness himself as he tells her that it's alright, that she did the right thing…  
  
As the vision dissipates, he opens his eyes to see the doctor watching him apprehensively.  
  
"Maybe, we should wait for this, Mr. O'Connell. You seem weaker than you thought."  
  
"No! Just give me a moment. I wanna see my son… I have to see him…"  
  
Although the doctor is not overly surprised that Dexter would like to reassure himself about his son, he is still taken aback by the imperative way he uttered the last part.  
  
"Alright, I'll help you get there…"  
  
Dexter leans on the doctor's extended arm gratefully, and then they slowly make their way out of the room as he tries to regain his bearings.  
  
The Seer seems preoccupied as she paces her throne room. She's not certain why, but there is a ripple in her visions. A subtle change, which makes her uncomfortable… The priest again enters the room, bowing respectfully. However, he senses his mistress' anxiety and looks up.  
  
"My liege, is there something wrong?"  
  
The Seer turns to him irritably:  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you that we're perfectly safe?"  
  
"Forgive me, mistress, but I felt that something was bothering you…"  
  
The Seer walks slowly toward the throne and she doesn't answer at first. After a moment, she seems to make up her mind.  
  
"I want you to stay close and be ready to do something for me. I'm not sure if it will be necessary, but it's better to be prepared…"  
  
"I live to serve you, my liege," the priest says, as he again bows deeply.  
  
The Seer barely pays him any interest…  
  
In her mind's eye, she's seeing a very disturbing image. A young child faces her in the future, and somehow, takes away all the powers that she has managed to steal. Yet, she knows that only one child could do it, and he died…  
  
Phoebe sits uncomfortably in the therapist's office. She asks herself for the umpteenth time why she has to be there? Yet, deep down, she knows. It's just difficult for her to admit the need for help. After all, she is supposed to be the one helping others, not the reverse. The therapist coughs discreetly, obviously to get her attention.  
  
"Miss Halliwell?"  
  
"Mrs. Turner," she says abruptly. She regrets her outburst immediately, but doesn't apologize as the therapist pursues:  
  
"Mrs. Turner, I understand that you've suffered a great loss…"  
  
"Isn't that why I'm here?" Phoebe realizes that her attitude is nowhere near better but she can't help it. All of this grates on her.  
  
"Mrs. Turner, I know how difficult it is to talk about these things. However, you have to realize that if you keep it all to yourself, it'll only fester inside…"  
  
"And then, I'll go crazy, right? That's what my sisters think… that I'm crazy…"  
  
Phoebe is really unnerved and the therapist gives her some time to calm down before he speaks again:  
  
"I only think that if you could confide in me about it, you'd feel better already. When a person is faced with such an ordeal it's normal to have some problems coping. I'm here to help you through this…"  
  
Phoebe opens her mouth as if she was about to say something, but she closes it back quickly.  
  
"Take your time," the therapist encourages her. "We're in no hurry. And when you're ready, have no fear, you can tell me anything. I won't judge you in any way, whatever you say…"  
  
Phoebe lets out a rare laugh…  
  
"You'd be surprised…"  
  
The therapist stares curiously at her, as Phoebe wipes off the beginning of a smile and then keeps silent afterward.  
  
When Piper picks her up, Phoebe's mood has not improved in any way.  
  
"What were you thinking sending me there? What was I supposed to tell this guy? My husband was taken over by the source of all evil? I gave birth to a monster, but he was still my son and I loved him? I had to kill them for the greater good?"  
  
For every bitter question, her voice rises steadily. However, as much as it hurts Piper to see how hard it is for Phoebe, she still thinks that her getting angry might be a step forward.  
  
"Phoebe, I know that this is all beyond terrible. Believe me, I understand… But in a way, it's better for you to have some kind of reaction rather than the lethargy you've been displaying lately."  
  
Phoebe turns to her, no less upset:  
  
"I'm angry Piper, very angry. I've been angry ever since this happened. Angry with myself, angry with you, angry with Paige… But most of all…"  
  
She stops suddenly, as if saying the next words would hurt her so much that it might send her over the edge.  
  
Piper watches her expectantly. However, when Phoebe still won't pursue, she says:  
  
"You've got to say it, Phoebe. You're entitled… he would probably agree with you…"  
  
Phoebe tries very hard to fight the grief that threatens to overwhelm her. Nevertheless, as she senses that Piper is observing her closely, something breaks inside. Her face contorts into a grimace of pain, and she suddenly explodes:  
  
"I hate him, Piper. I hate him. Why did he do this to me? Why…Why did he hurt me like that?"  
  
"You know that he didn't want to…"  
  
"He left, even after that, he abandoned me Piper. He could've fought it. Lived for me, but…"  
  
The sobbing threatens to choke her as she stops again…By then however, the dam is broken and the torrent of her emotions cannot be stopped anymore. That is when she finally admits what really hurts her the most.  
  
"I killed our child, his child. Why wouldn't he abandon me? I'm the monster, Piper."  
  
Her head drops into her shaking hands, and she then sobs uncontrollably for what seems like an eternity to Piper. This one wraps her arm around her stricken sister and she keeps silent by her side…She knows that these words only came from the terrible pain that Phoebe's feeling. Logic doesn't enter into a sorrow this deep. She knows that there will be time later to sort it, when Phoebe has finally let it all out.  
  
After a while, Dexter finally accepted the wheel chair offered by one of the nurses, albeit reluctantly. However now, he is grateful for it, as he realizes that he was not as strong as he thought. Reporting his attention to the nursery, he notices how big his son looks besides the other infants. Yet, to him he seems so fragile. When he finally got there, his relief was immeasurable. Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the first time he almost lost his son, even if it made no sense. While the doctor offered many times for him to return to his room, Dexter couldn't seem to pry himself away from this window. At last, the doctor gave up and went to fetch an aide, leaving him by Dexter's side. The aide waited patiently for a long while, but at last, he questioned:  
  
"Sir?"  
  
Dexter hears him, but takes a moment before acknowledging him.  
  
"Yes…" he finally says, obviously annoyed.  
  
"Sir, I know that you'd prefer staying here, but you really need to go back to your room now. It's getting late…"  
  
Only then does Dexter notice that the moon is high in the night sky through a nearby window. Even then, the thought of leaving his son seems too much to bear. The aide notices his hesitation and he insists:  
  
"Sir, I assure you that your son is in good hands. You've better take care of yourself first, if you wanna be of any use to him later…"  
  
Dexter sighs heavily, but at last, he nods in the affirmative. When the aide tries to push the chair however, Dexter speaks up abruptly.  
  
"No! I'll walk, thank you."  
  
Dexter still feels unsteady on his legs, but can't stand the idea of being treated like a child. He'd even have preferred if the aide had left then. Nevertheless, this one insisted on accompanying him to his room, and this proved to have been a good idea as another wave of dizziness takes him over halfway there. Again a strange vision comes to him.  
  
That same beautiful girl from the last vision is standing in front of him. However this time, she is smiling happily. She has on a wedding dress and the warmth in her eyes seems to spell great love. For a very short moment, he thinks that this is directed at him, and feels content beyond measure. Yet, almost immediately, a terrible sensation of shame invades him, and this pursues him even as he returns to the reality of the hospital hallway. The aide is barely able to keep him up and has to hold him against the wall to do so. Dexter finally manages to stand up unsteadily, as the aide observes him anxiously.  
  
"Sir, are you ok?"  
  
"I am now, thank you," he utters, as he starts back toward the room, although leaning heavily on the aide's arm. "Maybe the doctor was right. I might need some rest…"  
  
The aide helps him all the way to his bed, and only when he has left does Dexter rethink of the vision. He has very clear memories of his own wedding to his wife of five years. The pain of her loss is still vivid in his mind… Yet, he can't shake the familiar feeling that came from the vision. He wonders if Sherry's death is finally taking its toll on him as he lets himself drift into sleep.  
  
Leo watches Phoebe, as she is sitting quietly in the living room. Before her, the laptop' screen stays blank, while she stares at it apparently without seeing it. Piper discreetly comes beside him at this point.  
  
"What do you think," she whispers softly.  
  
"I don't know Piper. I too believed that releasing some anger would've helped her, but…"  
  
"She's been like this ever since we came home. I tried to get her to eat something, but she didn't even look up. I'm worried Leo…"  
  
Leo wraps his arm around his wife and she leans against him, grateful for his strength, as she feels so powerless to help her sister.  
  
"We can only give her our love and be patient Piper. Maybe that'll be enough…"  
  
Piper senses that Leo is being optimistic for her, however.  
  
"Did you ask the Elders about Cole again?"  
  
Leo motions her down the hallway and out of Phoebe's presence, before he answers this.  
  
"I don't think that anything will come of it Piper. It was only a desperate attempt at best. We both knew that they wouldn't go for it…"  
  
"I was hoping. I mean after all we've been through…"  
  
"It still would be much more than a helping hand, Piper. You're talking about bringing someone back to life… That's unheard of…"  
  
"Well, not exactly…"  
  
"Oh come on Piper, we're not gonna talk mythology here. And besides, Cole wasn't that man…Far from…"  
  
"Oh, all right, you don't have to be like this. I know that it was ridiculous…"  
  
Leo caresses his wife's hair tenderly.  
  
"I wish that I had the power to help her, Piper, I really do. But in a case like this, I'm afraid that if Phoebe doesn't help herself, no one else will be able to save her."  
  
Piper grimaces but says nothing as she lets her head drop on Leo's chest mournfully.  
  
Meanwhile, Phoebe is still staring at the screen, her mind a total blank. Suddenly however, she seems to become more animated and she switches it on. She then connects to the Internet, even if she's unsure what she's really looking for…  
  
The next day, Piper and Paige find her still sitting there. By then however, she seems very concentrated on something in the computer. Piper calls to her gently.  
  
"Phoebe, did you sleep?"  
  
"Hum, not really," this one responds distractedly.  
  
Paige comes to sit beside her, but can't really tell what she's doing. She has at least ten windows opened, most of which are about recent news…  
  
"What are you looking for?"  
  
Phoebe reluctantly pries herself from the screen:  
  
"I'm not sure exactly…But when I find it, I'm sure I'll recognize it…"  
  
"Really? If you ask me, it seems impossible to find anything in that mess…How do you do it?"  
  
"Force of habit," Phoebe replies as she returns to the screen.  
  
Piper sits on the other side and apparently measuring her words, she says:  
  
"Phoebe… Don't you think that it'd be healthier to drop this and, I don't know… take some rest, go out…"  
  
Phoebe says irritably:  
  
"I need to do this Piper. And I know that you won't help me…"  
  
Piper sighs, now convinced that she knows what Phoebe is up to.  
  
"Phoebe, you don't really expect to find the man of the vision in there, do you?"  
  
For a moment Piper worries that Phoebe might retort angrily, as she tenses… However, Phoebe sits back from the screen and, after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she turns to Piper:  
  
"Piper, I know what you think… Maybe…maybe you were right about me seeing Cole because I wanted to. I'll admit that. Still, I did have a vision. And that means that it's somehow connected to Cole or me, given that I was touching something of his…Not only that, but it also means that we're supposed to help an innocent."  
  
Piper is about to protest further, but Phoebe pleads:  
  
"Please Piper, I need to do this. No matter how futile, I have to try…"  
  
Piper watches her uncertainly for a long moment, while she wonders whether things got better or worse. Then she smiles weakly at her sister.  
  
"Alright! Alright! I'll give you this, but you've got to remember that it's the power of three, not the power of a half wit…"  
  
Only Piper's brightening smile keeps Phoebe from getting upset, as she understands what her sister's trying to do. In the same spirit, she picks up one of the cushions and throws it at her, actually smiling herself.  
  
"Hey! Who's the half wit here?"  
  
"Well, if you gotta ask…"  
  
Phoebe's smile vanishes and she stands up and goes to her sister, feigning irritation. Piper watches her warily but Phoebe ends up hugging her tight. Piper' smiles returns as she wraps her arms around her.  
  
"Phoebe…You know that I only wanna help you, don't you?"  
  
"I know sis. I just need to do this, alright," she asks as she pulls away slightly and looks at Piper directly. This one nods in the affirmative.  
  
Paige approaches them at this point.  
  
"Hey, you did say the power of three, didn't you? So that should include me…"  
  
Piper and Phoebe turn to her, and Paige pretends to be slightly embarrassed until they open their arms to her. Then a bright smile comes to her lips as well.  
  
"Well," she then utters as she steps back, "where do we start? Because really, I have to admit that I'm an Internet illiterate…" Phoebe seems amused for the first time in weeks, as she goes back to her seat and gives them the highlights of what she found out.  
  
As Phoebe tells them about where she thinks the events of the vision will take place, Piper's features darken again.  
  
"Phoebe, like Paige, I'm not much into the Internet and such. But I don't think that this page and that one are about finding this location…"  
  
"Huh, well…"  
  
"What were you looking for?"  
  
What she saw was a website talking about Life after Death, which in and of itself tells Piper just about all she needs to know. However, she feels that Phoebe should be the one admitting it. Maybe then she would realize how crazy this sounds…  
  
"Oh alright, I've been looking into any event that could be related to what I saw…including finding out about people suddenly returning from the dead…"  
  
Piper sighs anew:  
  
"Phoebe…"  
  
"I promise that I'm done with it…" She says this, as she hesitantly closes those windows, leaving only the news ones.  
  
Piper caresses her hair tenderly, knowing how hard it is for Phoebe.  
  
"We'll help you get through this, you know that don't you?"  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
The next morning, Dexter wakes up feeling much stronger. So much so that the idea of spending even one more day in the hospital seems unbearable. His only concern is about his son, Shaun. However, after a talk with the doctor in charge, he becomes convinced that there wouldn't be any problems if they left the hospital early.  
  
"Mr. O'Connell, although I do find that you're recovery is excellent, along with your son's, I still think that it would be best if you stayed a little longer."  
  
"I really don't see why doctor. I feel great, and if you're sure that my son is fine as well, then we've got a life to build here. One that I'm impatient to start…"  
  
"So, you were just moving here, weren't you?"  
  
A shadow crosses over Dexter's features:  
  
"My wife died recently. I decided that since I had no other family to speak of, a change of venue was in order. San Francisco seemed the best place to go, and besides, I got a few offers from law firms here. However, if I don't show up for the interviews, Shaun and I will have to go back empty handed…"  
  
"You've been through a lot. I'm sure that these people would understand…"  
  
Dexter stares at him with a slightly mocking smile:  
  
"You don't know corporate law very well, do you?"  
  
The doctor responds in kind:  
  
"I must admit that I prefer staying as far away as possible from those sharks… No offence…"  
  
"None taken, doctor. Nevertheless, I'll still want you to sign our release…"  
  
"Ok, but… you've got to promise me to come back for a check up a week from now at the most. Or even sooner if something goes wrong."  
  
"Of course doctor, whatever you say…"  
  
After finding a hotel not far from the hospital, Dexter prepared for the interviews that had not been untimely cancelled yet. He regretted missing the first one, which was the most interesting offer. However, he felt that calling them would only sound needy, no matter how justified his tardiness was.  
  
After two interviews, Dexter found himself utterly disappointed. For one, the going rate offered was way below his expectations, even for a lawyer who had never worked in one of those big cities. Secondly, the people interviewing him had a problem with him bringing his son along. A few of them even offered for their secretaries to take care of the boy, but Dexter couldn't part with him. Without knowing exactly why, he felt that he couldn't leave his son with strangers, not even for a few minutes. He could offer no logical explanation for this compulsion; it was only something that he felt strongly about.  
  
Now Shaun's squirming in his arms as Dexter's walks down a busy street. The noises of the big city are somewhat dizzying to him, as he is used to a quieter place, or so he seems to remember. As he threads through the crowd, a crazy thought comes to him. He wonders if he couldn't just move to wherever he wants in a flash. The idea is so ridiculous that it brings a self mocking smile to his lips. "Still," he thinks, amused anew, "how much fun that would be…"  
  
Phoebe and her sisters have been waiting for hours. She's scanning the crowd constantly for a sign of the man and the child. Both of her sisters know that Phoebe still hopes to see Cole coming down that street. Because of this, they can't help wondering about the vision itself. Phoebe realizes this as she often had to remind them to stay alert, particularly in the last hour. Her sisters' misgivings irritate Phoebe and she winces in unpleasant anticipation when she sees Paige coming toward her:  
  
"Phoebe, I don't think there's anything more that we can do here. Maybe you were wrong about the timeframe?"  
  
By now, Paige's main concern is all the work that is accumulating on her desk because of what she thinks is a wild goose chase. As for Piper, fortunately Leo has promised to take care of the club. As he said:  
  
"Go with your sister; her wellbeing takes priority over everything else." This, she believed made a lot of sense at the time. However, the apparent futility of the exercise begins to weigh on her as well.  
  
"Maybe Paige is right, Phoebe? For all we know, we might've been too late…"  
  
"No! I'm telling you, I can feel it inside. We've got to wait. I'm sure that it won't be long now…"  
  
Piper and Paige exchange doubtful looks, but they settle down to wait some more.  
  
The whitish appearance of the Seer's eyes obviously indicates that she is having a vision, or trying to. From the look of her, it doesn't seem any more pleasant than it was before. As her eyes return to normal, she calls to the Priest without looking back. He enters the room immediately, as if he had anticipated her call.  
  
"Yes, my liege?"  
  
The priest realizes that she isn't really addressing him as she muses:  
  
"My vision is clouded. I can only see an insignificant infant, and nothing else. That child is not even magical. Why is he haunting my visions?"  
  
Then she turns to the Priest:  
  
"I want you to bring me that child. I have to see him up close. I have to know why…"  
  
"Where is he," the priest immediately acquiesces.  
  
"I don't know where he is, but I know where he'll be."  
  
She turns to him and motioning, she creates a floating image showing a city street. A man she doesn't recognize walks leisurely down that street, while holding an infant."  
  
"There…"  
  
The priest takes it in, and then the image vanishes. He asks:  
  
"What really troubles you mistress?"  
  
"It's not important to you. All you have to know is that if I can hold this child and possibly end his life, I'm convinced that all the doubts will go away…"  
  
The Priest watches her briefly with curiosity. However, her severe stare convinces him to leave it at this, as he bows deeply, and then seems to melt into the rocky floor.  
  
The Seer turns back and again searches the visions for the answer that seems so fleeting.  
  
Dexter is now convinced that the strange visions are behind him. That is until the unpleasant dizziness returns. Worried about his son, he scans the sidewalk and thankfully spots a bench close by. He barely reaches it before the vision engulfs him. He sees the same young woman before him. However now she seems mean and unhappy. Even as he watches her, he realizes that she is pregnant, but there is nothing normal about it. Her pregnancy appears to jump a month for every second, until suddenly a baby appears in her arms. She looks upon it with a mix of pride and curiosity it seems, although he sees no affection in her eyes. Then, almost immediately afterward, a strange woman dressed in an earth tone robe glimmers in right by the young woman. The older woman then pries the baby from the young one's hands before disappearing with an amused smile. The young woman, who had seemed uncaring before, is now crushed. Her lips tremble with repressed sobbing. She can't seem to react, barely looking down to her extended arms, and then to where the baby and the woman disappeared. After a moment, where she seems paralyzed by unreleased emotions, she drops to the ground heavily, as if the weight of the world had just fallen upon her shoulders…  
  
Dexter could feel her pain so deeply that when he came out of the vision, his eyes were filled with tears. He can't understand why, except maybe that he would be just as crushed should he lose his own child. He looks down on Shaun, who seems thankfully unaffected and still asleep. He sits there for a long time, scared of himself now, as he wonders if he is not slowly going insane. "Maybe," he thinks anxiously, "I should've told the doctor about these…"  
  
Finally, he feels strong enough to continue, but considers hailing a cab…  
  
Paige comes to Phoebe, even more annoyed than before:  
  
"Phoebe, I've had enough. We've wasted enough time on this. I'm afraid that this was one more of your delusions about Cole."  
  
Phoebe turns angrily toward Paige.  
  
"I should've known that you'd throw it in my face again. You hated him, even before he was possessed and now…now if there was the slightest possibility that I could find him again…"  
  
"Phoebe that's not true. Stop it."  
  
Piper comes between them:  
  
"Girls please, let's calm down here. We're all tired of waiting. I know I am."  
  
Then, looking at Phoebe directly, she adds decisively:  
  
"Ok, I'm giving this thirty more minutes, but it's just for you Phoebe…"  
  
"But…I…"  
  
"Phoebe! Thirty minutes and we're out of here…"  
  
Phoebe looks down, defeated.  
  
About fifty feet from them, Dexter is turning the corner and coming onto that street. He looks around, searching for a cab, but can't find one free at this point, as he goes on distractedly down the sidewalk toward the girls. He is almost halfway there when the strangest thing happens. Right there, in front of him, a hooded figure seems to come out of the sidewalk and advances on him quickly. The weird thing is that instead of being surprised or scared by this, he only feels anger. Holding tight to his son, he is about to turn around when a scream stops him.  
  
"COLE!"  
  
He doesn't know why, but the name seems oddly familiar. Even the hooded man turns toward the loud voice, as they both see three young women running their way. What keeps Dexter from trying to escape at this point is when he recognizes the woman from the visions. The shock is such to him, that he simply stands there, unmoving. As they both watch, another of the girls lifts her hands up, and for Dexter, everything goes blank. Piper froze the street, but unfortunately, it seems that the priest is immune to her freeze. When he understands that he is faced with witches, he grabs the child out of Dexter's arms and he melts quickly into the sidewalk, while Piper hesitates to blow him up for fear of hurting the baby. Piper and Paige watch with dejected expressions as he vanishes, while Phoebe goes on running toward Dexter.  
  
She stops in front of him and once more screams Cole's name, touching his face to make sure that she is not dreaming. Only then, does she seem to realize that the child is gone. An appalled expression spreads across her face, as she turns toward her sisters.  
  
Piper and Paige hurry toward her, but on their faces, she can see that there is something else bothering them. They look from her to the frozen man with obvious perplexity. No matter, the emotions run too high inside Phoebe for her to bother with their strange reaction. All she cares about is that even having found Cole, she may still have lost her son…  
  
"My son…he was here, no….no…"  
  
Then, she falls heavily to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Piper goes to her nervously, as she calls for Leo. Meanwhile, Paige still looks at Dexter, then toward Phoebe in wonderment.  
  
"Piper? He doesn't even look like Cole!"  
  
Piper winces at this, even as Leo orbs in an alley next to the street and runs to them.  
  
"I know Paige. I don't understand either," she says grimly. "Leo, please orb him and Phoebe to the manor and wait for us there?"  
  
"What's wrong with Phoebe?"  
  
"Physically, I don't think there's anything wrong…"  
  
Leo glances at Paige questioningly but this one doesn't clear things up for him either.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Leo. Later! I can't keep this place frozen indefinitely."  
  
A horn heard from down the street confirms her assertion, and Leo quickly orbs a frozen Dexter and Phoebe back to the manor, while Piper unfreezes the street and the girls lose themselves in the crowd. Many people seem astonished for an instant, but thankfully, they shake their heads and walk on.  
  
As soon as they find a quiet place, Paige orbs them both to the manor in turn. There, they find Dexter still frozen, while Leo is tending to Phoebe, who is moaning but still unconscious.  
  
Piper quickly moves toward her and Leo:  
  
"Is she ok?"  
  
"You tell me. What happened?"  
  
Piper sighs and Leo turns toward her curiously.  
  
"Ok, I don't know why, but Phoebe seemed convinced that this man was Cole…"  
  
Saying so, she indicates Dexter, who is still frozen in place. The man is indeed almost as tall as Cole was, but there ends the similarities. He has blond hair and hazelnut eyes. He is also obviously not as trim as was Cole, and Piper decides that he must be some sort of businessman. Although he's not bad looking, she knows that there is no resemblance to Cole whatsoever. Phoebe's exclamation still makes no sense to her.  
  
"Even if it's strange, that still doesn't tell me what's wrong with her now?"  
  
"There's more…"  
  
Leo gives her a questioning look, but then Paige reminds her of their other problem.  
  
"Hey, I know that Phoebe's in trouble, but I really think that we've gotta do something about him first…" she says then, indicating Dexter.  
  
Piper dreads unfreezing him, as she knows how he will surely react. Yet, they have to face it at some point and it might as well be now.  
  
"Leo, you'll understand soon enough…"  
  
She goes back toward Dexter and motions in front of him, wincing in anticipation.  
  
As she feared, Dexter's first thought as he sees them is not his present location, but his son's absence and their presence.  
  
"Where is my son? What did you do with Shaun," he asks right away, on the verge of panic.  
  
"We're so sorry…"  
  
"Sorry? What do you mean, sorry? Where's Shaun?"  
  
"Mister, I can't tell you where he is, we…"  
  
"Why did you take him? What did you do to him, and…"  
  
Dexter suddenly realizes that he's no longer in the street and his panic grows.  
  
"What happened? Where the hell am I?"  
  
By now, he is utterly convinced that he is going out of his mind. Dexter is not even certain anymore of what is real and what is not. However, a constant thought keeps him going:  
  
"Never mind this… I want to see Shaun now!"  
  
Paige looks helplessly toward Piper, who isn't certain on what to do either. She doesn't even want to try imagining what he must be feeling at the moment.  
  
"Please sir, you have to sit down. We can't help you unless we know why this demon went after your son…"  
  
"Demon? What? What kind of insane people are you? If you hurt Shaun…"  
  
Piper freezes him again at this point.  
  
"What the hell should I tell him now?"  
  
Leo comes toward them:  
  
"I'm afraid that you've got to tell him the truth. You won't get anything out of him unless he trusts you."  
  
"And how am I supposed to accomplish that?"  
  
"Piper, just be yourself… You're not the one who took his son. You're the good guy, remember?"  
  
"Try telling HIM that…"  
  
"Well, if you unfreeze him, I could give it a try…"  
  
"Wait," Paige says imperatively, as she sees that Piper is about to oblige. What if I could call the boy back?"  
  
"How," Piper questions dubiously.  
  
"Well, let's look in his pockets. Maybe there's a picture of him there?"  
  
"Right," Piper utters, slightly encouraged by this idea.  
  
Soon she finds the man's wallet and eagerly opens it.  
  
It doesn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. There is a picture of the whole family apparently. In it, a cute brunette is holding the baby in her arms, while the man standing before her watches over them proudly. They appear to be the image of happiness. This puzzles her further, as she still can't understand what the demon might have wanted with the boy. She hands the picture to Paige, who concentrates on it intensely. Then she utters:  
  
"All right, here goes nothing…"  
  
The priest enters the chamber carrying the child, who is now crying, immediately catching the Seer's attention.  
  
"Bring it to me," she demands impatiently. The priest moves quickly toward her, and the Seers peers at the child with an intense curiosity, although mixed in with a hint of anxiety.  
  
"What are you," she asks herself, as she can't find anything remotely magical about him even now. In fact, as she looks closely, she realizes that the child seems different from the one in the vision. She glares at the priest:  
  
"What is that? He's not the one I asked you to bring here."  
  
"I swear my liege," the priest says nervously. "I went where you told me to. He was exactly where you described…"  
  
The Seer stares at him angrily, but then she finally decides that she can trust his word. "So why is there such a difference?" she asks herself, as her perplexity grows. She picks him up and tries to look closer, thinking that maybe she is mistaken. At this moment, a white glowing light seems to emanate from him. Orbs begin to form around him. However, these soon dissipate, while the child stays in her arms…  
  
"What happened?" Piper exclaims.  
  
"I don't know. I thought that I had him, then nothing…" Paige looks at her hands in total confusion.  
  
Piper turns to Leo askance:  
  
"What's happening here? Phoebe sees things! And a child is kidnapped for no apparent reason."  
  
Leo shakes his head:  
  
"Haven't you learned by now that evil sometimes does things that make no apparent sense? What matters now is to try and figure out how we can help this man and his son. Paige's way didn't work, but maybe there's something more in your book?"  
  
"Right," Piper agrees impatiently, not waiting and already moving toward the stairs.  
  
Leo stops her however.  
  
"Aren't you forgetting something?"  
  
Piper slowly comes back.  
  
"I guess that my subconscious was trying to avoid this…"  
  
She positions herself just where she was before and again, unfreezes Dexter.  
  
This one looks around in confusion. Even more so when he spots Leo close by, as this one forgot to return near Phoebe.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?"  
  
Piper immediately realizes their mistake and she glares at Leo. This one shrugs apologetically, but by then, it's too late to correct this.  
  
"Ok Mr. O'Connell?" Piper tries, as she saw the name in the wallet.  
  
"How do you know my name? What is it that you want? I have almost nothing of worth…Please, give me back my son. He's all I've left in the world, please…"  
  
Paige intervenes then:  
  
"Mr. O'Connell, you have to believe us. We want exactly the same thing, which is to find your son and return him to you. Please, give us a chance to explain…"  
  
Dexter stares at each of them in turn, trying to calm himself. That is when he spots Phoebe on the couch, and for some reason, he feels a renewed fear. This time, however, it's for her.  
  
"What's wrong with her," he asks, as he takes a hesitant step toward her.  
  
Leo observes him curiously, puzzled by his change of attitude.  
  
Paige is the one to answer:  
  
"She's fine, don't worry about her. Are you ready to listen now?"  
  
Dexter turns back toward her reluctantly:  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
Paige wonders if she got through to him, or if he's only resigned himself…  
  
"Come take a seat and I'll try to explain."  
  
Dexter glanced once more toward Phoebe, and then he reluctantly takes the seat that Paige offered.  
  
Seeing that Dexter finally seems to have calmed down, Piper turns to Leo:  
  
"There might not be much time left. Why don't you go straight to the Elders, while I get the book?"  
  
Leo nods in the affirmative, but in order not to spook Dexter more than he already is, he walks out of the room before orbing up.  
  
Piper looks back at Dexter then:  
  
"If I showed you some pictures, do you think that you could recognize the hooded man who attacked you?"  
  
"I think so…Do you know why he took my son?"  
  
"That's what we're here to find out…"  
  
Piper nods in Paige's direction and then leaves without waiting. Paige is tempted to call her back and to get the book herself magically, but just like Leo, she figures that Dexter doesn't need more surprises.  
  
"So…" she begins hesitantly, as she sits beside him, "you probably guessed that we're not the typical family…"  
  
Dexter only stares without a word. He barely holds on as it is, the thought of his son being always foremost in his mind.  
  
"Alright," Paige pursues then, "well, there aren't many ways to say it. We're witches…"  
  
"What," Dexter finally reacts. "Witches, like with brooms…what are you taking me for?"  
  
"Hey, you saw that demon coming out of the sidewalk yourself… I think that it qualified as rather extraordinary!"  
  
Dexter looks away, again reminded that his son is in danger, or at least he thinks that he is. By now, he truly wonders about his sanity.  
  
"We'll do everything we can for your son," Paige adds softly, guessing what he's worrying about.  
  
"Why am I listening to this? I…this is too unbelievable. I must really be going out of my mind…"  
  
"I know that it sounds fantastic, but you're not crazy, trust me…"  
  
"How can you be so sure? You've got no idea what I've been through the last few days…"  
  
"What do you mean? If something out of the ordinary happened to you, it might be related to your son's kidnapping, you know. We need to know everything if we wanna be able to help you."  
  
Dexter glances back at Phoebe, biting his lips nervously. Then, he shakes his head.  
  
"For all I know, I'm talking to a hallucination…"  
  
Paige sighs, slightly exasperated, but she still says:  
  
"I understand that it's difficult to believe, but what can it hurt to tell me? Particularly if I'm not real?"  
  
She smiles encouraging when he looks back, and he suddenly decides that maybe talking might help him through it, after all.  
  
"Alright, I guess nothing can be worse than what I've witnessed today…I've been seeing things, and people I never knew before. In fact," he says, pausing for an instant, as he turns once more toward Phoebe, "I've seen her many times…"  
  
"Phoebe? What did you see exactly," Paige questions…  
  
In the underworld, the Seer glares at the priest and this one grovels in fear.  
  
"I'm so sorry, my Liege. I know I should've told you about the witches…"  
  
"What did they want with the child, I wonder," she then asks herself, while apparently giving up her grudge against the priest.  
  
"There must be something special about him." This, she says as she looks down on the infant, now quieter. Try as she may, however, she still can't find anything remotely magical about him. Dejectedly, she hands the child to the priest.  
  
"I want you to keep him in a secure place. No matter what, I will figure out what the deal is with this child…"  
  
This time, the priest dares eyeing her curiously, as he senses how troubled his mistress truly is. Yet, as much as he would like to know what worries her so, he can't bring himself to risk even one question. Instead, he bows deeply and obeys her order, carrying his burden out of the chamber quickly.  
  
Leo faces the Elders impatiently, worried as he is about the child and how they might be too late. However, his worries seem nothing in comparison to the Elders' reaction after he related to them what brought him there.  
  
"They took the child?" one of them asks anxiously.  
  
"What do you know about him?" Leo questions in surprise.  
  
"Where did they take him," the same Elder asks, while ignoring Leo's question.  
  
"First of all, we don't even know who "they" are… and you haven't answered my question."  
  
The Elder who was questioning Leo, turns to the others, while still avoiding answering. They all seem overly agitated to Leo. However, the matter at hand is too pressing for him to hold back.  
  
"Please, I need to know more about him if the girls are to have a chance to save him."  
  
No matter, the Elders seem to have completely forgotten he was ever there.  
  
"It was all for naught…"  
  
"We should've stayed out of this…"  
  
"We couldn't leave them there, you know that…"  
  
"Besides, it was worth a try."  
  
Leo really has had enough of their attitudes:  
  
"Hey, a child's life's at stake here. His father's anxiously waiting for us to save him…Can't you at least tell me what you know about him? Why was the demon after him?"  
  
"His father," one of them questions, as he turns toward Leo with a sudden interest.  
  
"Yes, his father. He's at the manor with the Charmed Ones, and they've got no idea where his son was taken, or why for that matter…"  
  
"We can't tell you that, Leo."  
  
"What? If you know something, it could be essential to his rescue…"  
  
"It's probably already too late. He wasn't supposed to be there. How did this happen?" The Elders' question is more rhetorical than anything else. Leo is not even certain who he is talking about anymore, but he still answers, nevertheless:  
  
"As I told you… The girls went to save an innocent based on one of Phoebe's visions…"  
  
"A vision?"  
  
"Well, it was a strange one, but they still found that the child was kidnapped exactly like she said he would be."  
  
"What was strange about it?"  
  
"Hum, in the vision, the man she saw supposedly looked like Cole. But I told you that Phoebe was having problems lately…and you didn't do anything about it." Leo adds, with a hint of reproach.  
  
The Elders keep silent at this, even ignoring the reproachful tone of voice, and Leo suddenly becomes suspicious:  
  
"What is it that you're not telling me?"  
  
Again, the Elders talk among themselves instead of answering him. However, as he listens, Leo begins to see where this is going, and he opens wide eyes at the implication.  
  
"How could she have seen him? We made sure it couldn't happen."  
  
"Do you think that her power allowed her to?"  
  
"It has to be it. If by miracle this is resolved, we'll have to do something about her…"  
  
Leo approaches them, and this time, he won't be ignored:  
  
"What are you talking about? Do you mean that Phoebe really saw Cole? That's impossible. This man looked nothing like him…"  
  
The Elders still seem unwilling to answer. Then one of them caves:  
  
"Leo, it was never our intention to put them back together…"  
  
"What? You mean you did bring him back? And you did not tell us? But wait, I still don't understand. It's not Cole that I saw…"  
  
"And neither were you supposed to… We believed that we'd thought of everything, but she messed it up… Come to think of it, maybe that's why the new Source is aware of the child…"  
  
"The Source? You think that she's the one who's got him?"  
  
"Most probably yes, Leo… And if she found out his true identity, he won't be alive by the time you get to him."  
  
"Who is…" Leo stops abruptly, suddenly realizing the answer to his question.  
  
"You mean that he…?" he exclaims incredulously, and the Elder finishes the sentence for him.  
  
"Yes, he is their child, Phoebe and Cole's…"  
  
"But why not tell Phoebe? I begged you to help her…"  
  
"There was more at stake than Phoebe's problems, Leo. A greater good to be considered…"  
  
"Are you telling me that you were willing to let her suffer this terrible burden, even if there was no point anymore?"  
  
"We had to protect the child. He could be the world's only chance if the Charmed Ones fail."  
  
"How?" Leo questions dubiously.  
  
"The powers that the new Source took from him… Only he can take them back… And then, hopefully end her reign."  
  
"This doesn't make sense. The Charmed Ones would be much better armed to protect him."  
  
"We thought that we had a much better way, Leo…If the Source didn't know he was alive, there wouldn't be any reason for her to go after him before he's ready…"  
  
"Before he's ready?"  
  
"He needs to grow first, and live on the side of good. This way, he'll be able to contain those powers and control them. This rather than being controlled by them…"  
  
"And according to you, Cole can do this better than the Charmed Ones?" Leo's tone of voice leaves no doubt about his scepticism…  
  
"He is his father, and promised to protect the child. And only he could be made invisible to the Source, or so we believed…"  
  
"How did you do it?"  
  
"We didn't do much. We gave him the power to morph and made sure that he would believe this form to be the real one. We also linked his son to him and shielded them from both sides… As long as Cole stays in this shape, his son will be invisible to the Source… However, there seemed to have been a hiccup in our plan…"  
  
"A major one," Leo exclaims. "Did you intend for Cole never to know who he is?"  
  
"We believed that it would be possible to tell him the truth later on, when time had gone by and he understood the need to stay away from Phoebe…"  
  
"What made you think he would agree to that?"  
  
"The greater good…"  
  
"You're making the same mistake that the Source made…" Leo interrupts then.  
  
"The Source underestimated Cole's attachment to Phoebe, and so did you. Maybe, it wasn't Phoebe's powers that caused her to see him, but his longing for her…I've seen the way he looked at Phoebe, and now it's becoming very clear why…"  
  
Piper comes down the stairs and stops short on the landing, as she catches part of Dexter speech about his strange visions. Even the little she caught told her that what he's saying could only have been known to them. She begins to wonder if Dexter is not a witch in denial, while Paige questions him further about the visions:  
  
"Did you ever have visions like these before your accident?"  
  
"Never… I think that I must've gotten hurt a lot more than I thought. But enough about me… Did that give you anything that could help Shaun?"  
  
Even if Dexter has doubts about this place and these people, he still can't take the chance to ignore the possibility of it being real.  
  
"I don't know," Paige says dejectedly. She turns to see Piper who's carrying the book toward them, with the page already opened to the demon she thinks attacked Dexter and his son.  
  
"Was that him?" Piper asks as she sits by him in turn.  
  
Dexter acquiesces warily, as Paige comments after she had a look herself:  
  
"A dark priest…again…What would he want with the baby?"  
  
Piper shrugs, defeated:  
  
"That's the million dollar question. Although…"  
  
She turns toward Dexter and he squirms under her scrutiny.  
  
"You know these visions you had…"  
  
Dexter seems surprised, as he thought only Paige heard him.  
  
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help hearing," Piper defends herself, as she guesses his unspoken question. Then she pursues:  
  
"Maybe the accident was the trigger?"  
  
"For what?" Dexter asks incredulously.  
  
"Yes," Paige questions, "for what?"  
  
"Maybe his powers were dormant, and the shock awakened them."  
  
"Ah," Paige simply responds, although she's not sure that she understands.  
  
Dexter stares at Piper, as if he now thinks that she is the crazy one.  
  
"Powers? What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well you see sir, my sister," she says indicating Phoebe, "she has visions, just like the ones you described. That's her power as a witch…"  
  
"Wait a minute… You want me to believe that I'm a witch?"  
  
Piper is about to reply to this, but a moan from Phoebe attracts their attention.  
  
Phoebe's eyes flutter opened, while she whispers:  
  
"Cole…"  
  
She then slowly gets up. But before she could question them on what happened, she spots Cole sitting between her sisters. Without a moment of hesitation, she runs to him, with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Cole, you're here…"  
  
Dexter doesn't react at first, still confused by all of this. What's more, he feels something for this strange woman, something he can't explain.  
  
Meanwhile, Paige and Piper exchange dejected looks.  
  
"Cole," she whispers again, as she caresses his face tenderly. However Dexter finally reacts by pushing her hands away.  
  
"Miss…I'm sorry, I don't know who this Cole is…"  
  
"Cole! No, you can't do this to me."  
  
Dexter gently pushes her aside and stands up nervously.  
  
"I'm not this Cole you're talking about, Miss."  
  
Phoebe looks up at him with uncomprehending eyes, while Piper comes and wraps her arm around her.  
  
"Come on Phoebe, you need to calm down."  
  
Phoebe shrugs her away angrily.  
  
"Piper, it's Cole! You can see him like I do…"  
  
"Phoebe…"  
  
"Can't you," Phoebe asks, suddenly anxious at her sister's commiserating expression.  
  
"Phoebe, you're seeing something that's not there."  
  
"What? No…You can't tell me you don't see him… It's Cole, I swear," she utters again, but this time with a hint of doubt, as she turns back toward him.  
  
"How can you not see him?"  
  
Paige comes by her side as well.  
  
"Phoebe, this man looks nothing like Cole."  
  
"But…But…"  
  
Phoebe's breath quickens, as she is on the verge of hysteria.  
  
"It's impossible. Are you all blind…or… Cole please tell them who you are," she pleads suddenly. However, Dexter only watches her in total confusion. A terrible pain spreads through Phoebe's chest, as she wonders if she has truly gone mad.  
  
Piper tries again:  
  
"Phoebe, you gotta get a grip on yourself. We'll need you to help this man's son."  
  
"His son?" Phoebe looks at each of them in turn with a crazed expression.  
  
"No…no…that can't be…"  
  
"It's alright, Phoebe," Paige tries to reassure her, even though she is worried sick about her sister's reaction.  
  
"How can you say it's alright," Phoebe questions loudly. She takes a few steps back while saying this.  
  
"I'm telling you, I see him…"  
  
By now however, they can hear the doubts in her voice.  
  
"Phoebe, we'll help you through this," Piper utters, as she walks toward her. Phoebe moves back further.  
  
"No, leave me alone!"  
  
She then gives Cole one last pleading look. Nevertheless, when he still doesn't react, she swings around and practically runs through the orbs, as Leo is coming back. She doesn't stop and climbs the stairs without paying him any attention.  
  
"Hey, what was that?"  
  
Then, he turns toward Piper and Paige, taking in the appalled look on their faces. This is enough to tell him that things did not get any better.  
  
"Leo, what did you find out?" Piper questions, ignoring her husband's questioning stare. Before answering her however, he takes a good look at Dexter, whom he knows is Cole by now. Try as he may, he can only see Dexter O'Connell there. This only adds to the eerie feeling he's had since his talk with the Elders.  
  
"Leo?" Piper is becoming impatient.  
  
"Sorry…huh, well the Elders think that the Source took his son."  
  
"The Source? Why?"  
  
"It's a long story, but we don't have time for this. They think that there's a possibility, even if a slim one, that the boy is still alive…"  
  
Dexter reacts violently at this:  
  
"What do you mean? Where's my son?"  
  
He moves toward Leo and grabs his shirt angrily.  
  
"Tell me where he is!"  
  
Leo still can't shake the uneasy feeling, but he tries to calm him down nevertheless:  
  
"We'll do everything we can for your son… Mr. O'Connell." The last part, he says hesitantly, and Piper notices.  
  
"Leo?"  
  
"Piper, Paige, can I have a word with you two… in private?"  
  
Dexter panics:  
  
"When are you gonna do something for my son? You said that you wanted to help him."  
  
"Mr. O'Connell, trust me on this, we wanna find your son almost as much as you do. Just give us a chance…"  
  
Piper now eyes her husband even more curiously.  
  
"Ok," Dexter agrees reluctantly, "but please hurry!"  
  
He releases Leo then, and this one hurries out of the room motioning for Piper and Paige to follow him.  
  
As soon as they are out of earshot, Leo questions:  
  
"What's the matter with Phoebe?"  
  
Piper looks away sadly:  
  
"I think that she's gone over the edge, Leo…"  
  
Cryptically, Leo utters:  
  
"Maybe not…"  
  
Both girls look up in surprise.  
  
The Seer/ Source is pacing nervously again, troubled by the inconsistencies. She is almost tempted to end the child's life and be done with it. But she was always a careful demon. She prefers knowing exactly what those images meant before taking this drastic step. Again, she searches her visions for the answer…  
  
Dexter looks up toward the second floor, a strange longing stirring inside of him. "What is it about that girl?" He asks himself. "Why does she haunt me?" He has almost made up his mind to go look for her in spite of his doubts, when he feels the disturbing sensation of dizziness returning. Before he slips into the vision, he can't help a feeling of helplessness that invades him.  
  
This time, he finds himself facing the three girls that he just met. They seem very upset as they appear to look directly at him. Without knowing why, he understands that the anger and fear he sees in their eyes is directed at him. The girl, who goes by the name of Phoebe, seems hesitant, looking back and forth between him and her sisters. She gives him one last longing look, where he thinks that she's asking for his forgiveness, and then, she resolutely turns to her sisters and nods in acquiescence. The other two's relief is obvious as the girl he knows now as Piper pulls a piece of paper and they all start reading off of it.  
  
Almost immediately, he stops being only a witness, as a terrible burning sensation courses through him. He wants to scream, but no sound comes out, while he also suddenly realizes that he isn't alone. The voice he hears echoes with rage in his own mind as the burning sensation becomes unbearable. Then, Dexter finds himself spiralling down, sensing more than seeing that the angry being is also plunging with him. The both of them are falling toward a fiery pit, even as he realizes that the other entity is being torn away from him. For the space of an instant, he sees a man falling by his side. Even as he watches, a reddish glow separates from the man. Then, just before they hit the pit, the man who was falling with him seems to shrink, until all is left of him is a small infant.  
  
In a small chamber, Shaun is lying in a rocky cradle, crying. The priest watches him dejectedly, doing nothing to stop him. After a moment he shrugs, and then he moves out of the room, settling near the entrance. Meanwhile, Shaun calms down suddenly, as a whitish glow emanates from him. As the glow dissipates, a totally different child is left.  
  
Cole emerges from the vision, or rather memories, he knows now, totally dumbfounded. He stands up and walks quickly toward a mirror in the hallway, where he sees a stranger looking back. Even as he watches, his face returns to his own.  
  
"What the hell?" He exclaims.  
  
"You can't be serious," Piper exclaims. They stand in the manor's kitchen and both sisters stare at Leo incredulously.  
  
"That's not Cole, Leo. I know what Cole looks like, and that's not him."  
  
"I second that," Paige utters firmly.  
  
"Nevertheless, he's Cole. The Elders just told me."  
  
"Then why don't we recognize him?"  
  
Leo doesn't have time to answer that.  
  
"Can you recognize me now," the familiar voice comes from the doorway.  
  
They turn in block to see Cole there. All of them stare at him with a mix of amazement and resentment.  
  
"I don't believe it," Paige finally exclaims.  
  
"What now? Did the Source pull himself out of the hellhole we threw him in?"  
  
Cole sighs impatiently:  
  
"You can grill me to your heart's content after we found my son! Leo, I need you to orb me down."  
  
They hesitate only a moment longer, and then Piper explodes:  
  
"Wait just a minute! How the hell are we supposed to know if it's not another plan of yours to do god knows what? For that matter, how are we supposed to know you're you?"  
  
Leo intervenes:  
  
"Piper, I already told you. The Elders pulled Cole out of hell, not the Source…"  
  
Paige intervenes nervously:  
  
"Yeah well, I saw your face just now Leo. And you didn't seem much more reassured than we are."  
  
"I've got to trust the Elders on this, Paige."  
  
Piper turns to him dubiously:  
  
"That doesn't mean that we have to…"  
  
"Hey!" Cole interrupts angrily. "I told you to save it. Every second counts."  
  
This shakes them, as they return their full attention to him.  
  
"How are we supposed to know where to go?" Leo asks, while the girls stare at him, appalled.  
  
Both men ignore them however:  
  
"I can sense him. But we have to hurry…"  
  
Leo figures that he'll question him later on the particulars and moves toward him.  
  
"Wait," Piper calls, "you don't intend to do this by yourself?"  
  
Without giving them a chance to protest, she pulls Paige toward them, and Leo simply orbs them all down…  
  
Once they orbed in, Cole addresses them, obviously not too happy.  
  
"That's stupid, we didn't need you here…"  
  
"Speak for yourself. I prefer to keep my eyes on you…" Piper utters, while she's looking around anxiously, as if to contradict her own affirmation.  
  
"Ok now, where?"  
  
Cole grimaces with irritation, but soon remembers why he's there.  
  
"Follow me, if you really have to…"  
  
Paige adds to Piper's comment:  
  
"We really do!"  
  
"I see that things haven't changed much since I died."  
  
"Let's hope for your sake that they have…"  
  
Piper lets the threat hanging as they start walking behind him down a dark corridor.  
  
The Seer/Source comes out of her vision with an even deeper concern. She frowns with uncertainty.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
She suddenly stops, her attention attracted by a strange, if fleeting sensation. She's sure that for the space of a moment, she felt the essence of a long lost soul. Then nothing, as again, she has lost the trace, which causes her to frown in frustration.  
  
"Enough already," she utters irritably. Then she flames out.  
  
"He's here…"  
  
The group is hiding around a corner, and from where they are, they can see the dark priest that kidnapped Shaun. This is enough to convince them that Cole was truthful about sensing the boy.  
  
"Alright," Paige whispers, "what do we do now?"  
  
"Shaun's inside. All we've got to do now is for Leo to orb me in there and out as fast as possible."  
  
"I guess," Piper says, still unsure. "No funny business though…"  
  
Cole turns to her, frowning, but he doesn't comment.  
  
"Now, Leo!"  
  
Leo grabs his arm and they orb into the room to find Shaun, as he appears now, which is as Cole and Phoebe's baby. Cole exhales in relief at seeing him wide awake and unhurt. He moves toward him, but a tingling in the back of his neck tells him that something is amiss.  
  
Leo watches the entrance nervously:  
  
"Come on Cole, quick," he utters, just before the Source flames in before him.  
  
Leo takes a step back in surprise, while the dark priest re-enters the room. He obviously sensed his mistress' arrival.  
  
"My Liege," he says, already bowing, but he stops when he sees the intruders.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"I was going to ask you the same thing, priest."  
  
The priest trembles in fear at the warning voice.  
  
The Seer/Source then turns toward the intruders and begins:  
  
"Well, long time no see. I didn't expect your visit, or should I have?"  
  
Leo slowly moves back, even if he realizes that her knowing about Cole will also tell her about the boy if she didn't already know. He still plans to try getting them out, but is startled by the panicked voice behind him.  
  
"What is it? Why have you brought him here? What did we ever do to you?"  
  
Leo frowns, as he turns halfway to see Dexter O'Connell holding Shaun and retreating away from them in apparent fear.  
  
The Seer pursues:  
  
"What are they? Why do you risk everything for mere humans?"  
  
Leo turns back to her, while still moving toward Dexter and Shaun:  
  
"Everyone matters. If you weren't so evil, you might understand that."  
  
"Where do you think you're going?"  
  
The Seer quickly throws a fireball toward Dexter, which explodes at his feet, stopping Leo.  
  
"If you try to orb them out, whitelighter, you will only end up with two piles of dust."  
  
Leo looks back and forth nervously, wondering if he will be fast enough.  
  
"Now, maybe you could answer my question, whitelighter."  
  
"I already have. They're nothing to you, let them go," Leo pleads, even as he tries to figure out a way to warn Piper.  
  
Fortunately, Paige and Piper noticed the Dark Priest going in. Presently, Piper enters the chamber behind the priest and loudly calls to the Seer.  
  
"Hey, you, evil hag!"  
  
The diversion seems to work, as the Seer swirls toward her. Even if Leo was worried about what would happen to them, he still couldn't lose this opportunity. Without wait, he orbs to Dexter and Shaun. Unfortunately, the Seer realizes what is happening and quickly turns back toward them, throwing yet another fireball in their direction. This one explodes against the wall, even as Leo orbs out…  
  
Piper and Paige open wide eyes at this, unsure if Leo was quick enough. Nevertheless, they have no time to dwell on this, as the next fireball is coming their way. They duck just in time, and Piper lifts her hands up to try and blow up the Source, if only for a moment. The surprise is on her however, when this one barely seems affected. The dark priest, seeing that they attacked his mistress, makes a move toward them quickly.  
  
"Huh, run!" Piper calls to Paige.  
  
This one doesn't need to be told twice as they sprint out of the room. As soon as they turned the corner, Piper grabs Paige's arm.  
  
"Orb us out!"  
  
As the familiar orbs surround the both of them, they see the Source flaming before them. Fortunately, they are soon out of her reach, or so they hope.  
  
Paige orbed them directly to Phoebe's room, when she figured that no matter her state of mind, she might be their only chance if the Source decided to follow. They find her prostrated on her bed. She barely lifts her head when they orb in.  
  
She still notices their flustered attitude however.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Piper and Paige come closer before Paige answers, still looking about herself tensely.  
  
"Hopefully nothing…"  
  
They wait nervously for a few minutes. However, fortunately for them, it seems that the new Source is not ready to try them just yet.  
  
Finally, Piper turns toward Phoebe:  
  
"That was close," she utters. Nevertheless, Phoebe barely reacts, as if her first interest in the matter had totally vanished.  
  
"Don't you wanna know what happened anymore, Phoebe?"  
  
"I would ask, but then again, who am I? I can't even trust my own eyes and ears anymore. You were right, I'm going crazy…"  
  
"Huh, Phoebe…About that…"  
  
The door of the bedroom opens on Cole at this point, interrupting Piper.  
  
The relief that Paige and Piper feel is somewhat mitigated by their doubts about Cole. However, Piper understands that Phoebe needs to know who he really is.  
  
Piper takes Paige's hand, even as this one hesitates to leave Phoebe alone with Cole.  
  
"Ok, at the risk of repeating myself," Piper utters severely for Cole, "no funny business!"  
  
Cole only lifts an eyebrow at the comment. Then, he soon returns his attention to Phoebe, as her sisters go out of the room. Phoebe notices him, but it only deepens her depression. She still questions, while looking away:  
  
"What is their problem with you?"  
  
"Same as before, Phoebe…"  
  
For the briefest of moment, she wonders, but she soon quashes the delusion.  
  
"Phoebe please, look at me," he pleads, as he approaches her slowly.  
  
"What do you want from me? I understand now that you're not the one I thought. I'm sorry if I upset you, alright?"  
  
"Phoebe, you don't understand…"  
  
This time, she can't resist looking at him.  
  
"Phoebe, it's me…"  
  
Phoebe swallows hard, tempted as she is to give in.  
  
"Oh my god, now I'm really hearing things too. You're probably not even here at all," she utters, as she looks away.  
  
Cole seems unsure as well:  
  
"I'm so sorry baby. I know I let you down…"  
  
Phoebe can't help answering this, even if she thinks that she's talking to herself:  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you…"  
  
"It wasn't your fault Phoebe…"  
  
Phoebe sobs softly, and then he can't stand this anymore. He walks toward her and, sitting by her side on the bed, he gathers her in his arms, as she barely resists.  
  
"Phoebe please, I'm here, I'm real…"  
  
"No…you can't be here, you're dead," she says sadly. Yet, she can't help but lean against him, revelling in the illusion for as long as it'll last.  
  
He puts his hands on her cheeks and forces her to face him.  
  
"Look at me, Phoebe. I've come back. I've come back to you…"  
  
Phoebe frowns, suddenly wondering again. Tentatively, she brings her fingers to his face, tracing his cheeks, his lips, hoping against all hope that he will not vanish at her touch.  
  
"Cole?" she asks softly at last, while barely believing that she dared.  
  
Instead of answering, he pulls her face toward his and kisses her softly at first. Then, as her lips awaken at his touch, their kiss deepens. By then, Phoebe doesn't care anymore whether it's true or not. She simply wants this to last forever.  
  
A discreet knock on the door shatters the moment however. Reluctantly, they break their embrace, and they look up to see Leo entering with Shaun in his arms.  
  
Phoebe stares questioningly at him as he smiles happily.  
  
"I thought that you might wanna hold your son, Phoebe…"  
  
Her eyes are still bright with tears, and she questions hesitantly:  
  
"What?"  
  
Leo approaches her, as she turns questioningly toward Cole. This one smiles encouragingly, and she looks back, just as Leo is handing her the baby.  
  
"No, I'm just dreaming, or worse," she says, as she stands up and walks away.  
  
Leo's smile slowly dies, but he pursues:  
  
"I know that it's difficult to believe Phoebe, but it's the truth. Your son's here, as he should always have been."  
  
"Leo, why are you doing this to me? I can't take much more of this…"  
  
"Phoebe, please, you've got to believe it," Cole pleads again, as he stands up and goes to her. "He's just as real as I am."  
  
"I'm not sure that you are…"  
  
He pulls her in his arms again, holding her tight this time.  
  
"How real does this feel, Phoebe?"  
  
He allows her to pull away slightly, and then she finally asks:  
  
"How?" She looks back at Leo for reassurance, and this one smiles softly as he says:  
  
"It's a long story Phoebe, but you got your wish, trust me on this…"  
  
Phoebe reluctantly leaves Cole's side, walking slowly toward Leo. She puts her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her emotions, as she stares at the baby indecisively. Then, the baby opens his eyes, and she thinks that they look like his father's.  
  
She extends a hesitant hand toward him, while Leo smiles encouragingly.  
  
"It's ok, Phoebe…"  
  
She caresses the already thick dark hair, and she believes that she saw him smile. Her heart jumps in her chest as she finally dares hoping. She still casts a quick look toward Cole for more reassurance, and this one nods, smiling gently.  
  
"Phoebe," Leo calls to her, "are you ready to hold him now?"  
  
Trembling, she nods weakly, extending her arms as he delicately hands her the baby again. This time, she takes him, amazed at how small he is.  
  
"My son?"  
  
"Yes, Phoebe…" Leo goes out of the room then, leaving Cole and her alone with their son.  
  
Phoebe can't take her eyes off the little face.  
  
"That's a miracle," she finally says, still staring at Shaun in amazement.  
  
"If you want, we can choose another name for him…But I think that Shaun suits him well…" Cole asks, as he looks upon the both of them. He feels warmth in his heart at seeing the two people he loves with him, at last.  
  
Phoebe finally looks up, barely believing that it's all real.  
  
"You're really here, aren't you?"  
  
Cole gently wraps his arm around her shoulders and helps her to the bed.  
  
"Yes, we're both here with you, and I couldn't be happier Phoebe…"  
  
A shadow crosses over her expression, as she suddenly remembers what caused all of this.  
  
"Are you…" She stops and licks her lips nervously, wondering if she will shatter her own happiness by asking. He waits patiently, knowing that she needs to ask him.  
  
"Are you ok now? I mean…"  
  
"Yes Phoebe, it's only me now. I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop what happened, Phoebe. I tried; I swear I did…"  
  
"I know," Phoebe interrupts quickly. "It's just…"  
  
He closes his eyes, worried that it might be too late for them in spite of her obvious joy at seeing him.  
  
"If you want me to leave…"  
  
"No! No…I want you here, with me and our son…But…"  
  
"What?" He asks, as he looks back.  
  
"Can this happen again? I mean…are we safe from…"  
  
"The Elders told me that when they brought me back, they made sure that there wouldn't be any more mistakes…"  
  
"How can they be sure of that?"  
  
"They didn't tell me. They just said that it wouldn't be possible to use the void anymore, and that nothing bad would happen unless I faltered…and trust me, I've got no intentions of letting that happen. I'd never risk your safety again."  
  
Phoebe smiles gently then, only too happy to accept this on faith.  
  
"I love you…"  
  
He sighs in relief, and then bends toward her, kissing her lightly on the lips.  
  
"Never more than I love you and our son, Phoebe."  
  
Her smile brightens as she looks back at their son.  
  
The Seer watches the Priest in silence for a moment, while this one trembles in fear.  
  
Then without warning, she throws a fireball at him, which consumes him quickly.  
  
"One cannot find good help nowadays," she casually utters.  
  
She then thinks back on the fleeting sensation she had earlier. As incredible as it still is for her, she's certain that she felt the essence of Belthazor, if only for a mere instant. Yet, try as she may, she can't locate him anymore, as if he had only surfaced for seconds, then vanished. The disturbing visions have also ceased, leaving her to wonder what they meant in the first place…  
  
A small group formed of the Halliwell sisters, Leo and of Dexter O'Connell, holding his son, stands around two freshly dug graves. A priest utters solemnly:  
  
"Let's pray for the souls of Cole and Shaun Turner, may they rest in peace." After he recited the prayers for the dead, all of them in turn, throw dirt over the coffins, one of them appallingly small, as these are lowered in the graves. They harbour very serious expressions as they slowly walk away from the site.  
  
Phoebe turns to Leo:  
  
"Far from me to be ungrateful Leo, but was if fair to save Cole and our son, while leaving them to die?"  
  
"Phoebe, their death was written long ago. There was nothing that could be done about it. As for Cole, here, and your son, the Elders didn't choose to do this lightly. The threat isn't passed yet, you know that. They might yet have to fulfill a very perilous destiny."  
  
Phoebe nods warily, as she leans against Cole/Dexter.  
  
From behind a head stone, the Seer observes her gesture with a wondering stare…  
  
It's the middle of the night, and Phoebe suddenly wakes up with a little scream. Her first move is to look toward the crib and reassure herself about Shaun, while Cole wakes up in turn.  
  
"Phoebe, what is it?"  
  
Phoebe turns to him then, still barely believing that he is there, with her.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up…"  
  
"It's ok, just tell me?" He says gently, as he pulls her toward him.  
  
She gratefully leans against his bare chest, only happy to feel him.  
  
"It was just a stupid nightmare."  
  
"Do you wanna tell me," he asks, as he tightens his embrace.  
  
"Maybe later…"  
  
He caresses her hair and she looks up invitingly. As their lips meet, she realizes just how much she's longed for him all this time.  
  
"Don't ever leave me again," she whispers, as she caresses his cheeks tenderly.  
  
"I won't," he promises, just before capturing her lips hungrily.  
  
"I missed you so much," she says between kisses, which are more passionate one than the next. Only now, as their intense desire inflames their senses, does Phoebe believe that their life together has finally begun… 


End file.
